Nevermind. A flowerbed in the mission being used as a trashcan.
Waterview. This is the Embarcadero, the waterfront of San Francisco where all the tourists walk. As I was setting up my camera, this man came to sit down and pointedly ignored the woman sleeping there. I had to wait for a gap in the mass of tourists walking by. Not a single person acknowledged her presence.
Sleeping Man 1. I am reluctant to take photos of people sleeping. I like to ask people’s permission and engage in a conversation about who they are, where they are from, and what they think. But, it is simply impossible to document the homeless without acknowledging that they have no beds.
Teeth Tomorrow. I was struck that even the happy smiling people in this dentistry advertisement are not looking at the woman at their feet. This woman has scored the prize of a sleeping bag. The nights in SF are cold enough to be incredibly uncomfortable, making a sleeping bag a luxury. Note the three shadowy figures in the rightmost frame paralleling the trio in the advertisement.
Sleeping Man 2. This is in the Civic Center of SF, the home of the mayor’s office and and the resting place of dozens of homeless people.
Shopping. This dumpster is at a BART train station. In my conversations, I learned that different dumpsters are good for different things. The ones behind restaurants are good for when you’re hungry. These train station dumpsters are like a lost and found: sweaters, jackets, bags.
Packed Bags, Nowhere to Go. On the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The parking for the expensive cars in the background costs as much as a meal.
In the Shadows. On the walk to the San Francisco Ferry Building. It’s easy to find photos of people ignoring people. On this day I was walking in the same direction as these two gentlemen. I shot an entire roll of film of people that these men may not have even seen. The shadow separates two worlds.
Man in Repose. Sleeping on the streets is barely sleeping. It’s not unusual to find people so exhausted or out of sorts that they are unconscious in uncomfortable positions, arms and legs akimbo.
Rainy Day. It was rainy as is much of the winter. I was concerned for this woman, so I spoke with some nearby people who knew her. They assured me that this was nothing out of the ordinary.
Sunglasses on a sunny day. We didn’t speak much. He watched the birds near a modern art sculpture while I took these photos. He asked how he should pose, and I said “whatever feels right.” I look at these now and wish I’d been able to learn more about him.
After a hostile encounter nearby, I spent an hour swapping stories with “Big G”. We listened to a baseball game on a transistor radio while he told me of his infected leg (beneath the blankets), his struggles to get off the street, and his fraught relationship with his family. As we parted he said, “Hope I’m not here when you come back.”
This man was sitting on a bench by the Embarcadero chatting with his friend. He let me interrupt the conversation to take pictures of his hair. He was flattered and posed for multiple shots.
In the tenderloin, I walked past this woman and her adult children sitting in front of a permanently closed homeless shelter. Before I could get the photo, our conversation was interrupted by a drug deal. She told me her back was damaged in a fire and she couldn’t stand up straight. After the shot, she looked around and said, “this isn’t a good place to stand around with a camera.” I thanked her and left.
I spotted this man and asked him if I could take a photo. He agreed, and when I lined up the shot I realized I was out of film. So I sat with him on the bench while I reloaded. He told me his nose was crooked and scared because he fell through a glass table recently. He said he was the last of his Native American tribe.